Lillian Florence Beise

Disclaimer:  This is NOT our baby!  Our baby is still in utero!  With that in mind, read on. :)

Last July, Eric and I visited his sister Jena and her husband Brian in Chattanooga--we were driving down to Atlanta and wanted to stop and see their new house.  They showed us around and announced, in one of their spare bedrooms, that this was going to be their new baby's room!  We were so excited for them!  Several weeks later, we found out some similar good news ourselves...and learned just a few weeks after THAT that Eric's sister Sami and her husband Jonathan were expecting their second a week after us.  Wow.  Three new grandbabies due in the span of one month.  And just after Christmas, we found out that the four McLaughlin siblings were 4 for 4--Mariah is pregnant also and due in August.  So we are rechristening 2013 the Year of McLaughlin Grandbabies, wherein the number doubles from 4 to 8.

With great joy, then, we announce the beginning of the grandbaby wave.  Jena and Brian welcomed their little girl, Lillian Florence Beise, the morning of March 15th.  She was 8 pounds, 10oz and 20 1/2 inches, almost exactly the same size as Maggie was when she was born.  Maggie, Eric, and I were able to skype the new family on Saturday and Maggie was soooo excited to see Baby Lily (she kissed the computer pictures a few times for good measure).  Congratulations, Beise family!

Sami and I are both due in April.  Last time I "beat" her to the punch 5 days early, so we'll see what happens this time around. :)  Needless to say, this is a joyful time for the family.  We wish we could be there to share in it (perhaps the hardest part about our missionary lives...), but things like skype, phone calls, blogs, and emails have made it easier.  What a reunion it will be in 2015!